A European engineering campus UNITE! is evolving
As part of an education and research initiative, the EU Commission is financing
a consortium of distinguished universities with a technical focus. KTH Department of Learning in Engineering Science is taking on a major role within this initiative.
About UNITE!
All UNITE! members are leaders in entrepreneurship education and innovation. The plan is to combine all activities and actions which will generate new avenues for regional and social impact. By having an open innovation ecosystem this will provide an ideal environment to strengthen research activities between industry and academia.
The basics have been laid out by the European Institute of Technology (EIT) through Knowledge Innovation Communities (KIC’s). Members of UNITE! have built this together in recent years and based on these experiences will develop future ideas together for 2025.
To attract talent but also to provide better opportunities and improve the quality of life, UNITE! hopes to build a strong network of lifelong learning centers that will help to solve future societal and technological challenges. Location and time are no longer barriers as online learning has become a part of the new normal, complemented with physical presence UNITE! hopes that it’s graduates will embrace the mindset of socially responsible citizens of Europe and the world.
The KTH Department of Learning in Engineering Science will be working together with the these partner universities
The Department of learning is taking on a major role in the initiative Teaching and Learning Academy that will provide expert pedagogical training for university teachers all across Europe with a joint curriculum. With vast experience in engineering education, focus will be on design and facilitation of flexible study paths in multidisciplinary, multicultural and multilingual contexts, helping graduates prepare for future working life. The students themselves will be able to develop individualized professional profiles where they co-create their own learning.
Also, with Aalto university, The Department of learning will be building a Virtual UNITE! campus which will offer online tools and virtual spaces for joint teaching, research, social and cultural interactions so that the students will get easy access to course offerings of UNITE! partners.
To adapt to new technologies and digitalization, the staff at the universities will receive professional development in adapting to the new international atmosphere of the universities and a teaching staff pilot community which will create flexible study paths and curriculum design. Working together in pedagogical groups there will be a framework for joint collaborative teaching and learning that can be shared between all the universities.
Joint master programmes will be increased and be made into fixed packages of 30ECT with recognition between all the universities. Internship opportunities will be offered at different locations by any partner. Online language courses for the students created by our own language and communication department alongside other language center’s will help the students gain common European values and strengthen a multilingual and multicultural European identity through language learning.
Ph.D. as learning-research-innovation interface
An essential component will be to develop the Ph.D. together as an interface between learning, research and innovation in the evolving inter-university campus across Europe. The goal is to establish the “UNITE doctoral school” which will strengthen the interface between research and innovation on the Ph.D. level between the universities. By offering entrepreneurship education and collaborations with industries already belonging to the UNITE ecosystems this joint doctoral degree is hoping to transform scientific and technological research results into the creation of new business ventures with a sustained impact on economy and society.